Monthly League Format ... Too Short?

[Joy_IBADirector]

Hello everyone,

Over the past few weeks some of the league players have contacted me about the duration of the league. They feel that there is too much pressure and too little time to complete all of the matches in one month.

If you have any comments about it then you can answer to this thread and also vote in the poll.

dank je ...

Theo

[scottsalisbury]

:thumb: I feel the current format is excellent. We have already tried the two month format. It takes all the excitement out. What we need is for people to commit to play all their matches. One month is plenty of time. If everyone downloads MSN and schedules matches via e-mail it shouldn't be a problem.

With a two month format, it would probably take a new player a YEAR to get to division 1. How much fun is that?

Scott

[DBLxTRBL]

I have been enjoying League play for quite a while now and have found very little difficulty in playing the majority of my opponents. Time differences limit availability, but If one commits to play then maybe you will have to play at 01:00 your time, you should expect the same of others around the world too. If you are not prepared to be flexible, then don't expect to play all your opponents and accept forfeits.
I certainly find it a lot easier to match up with opponents that have MSN, but we can't make that a condition of League play I suppose.
Lengthening the amount of time to play the matches just allows more procrastination in my humble opinion.

[rudigerjona]

the monthly leage is exactly the right time to play about 11 matches. Leave it as it is, please.

theo, hope you received my message. I want to play in the Feb. leage, my email do not work just now.

[Theo_IBA]

Hi rudigerjona :)

Yes i received your mail.

Thanks for letting me know

Theo

[NorthUK]

ahhhhhhhhh! :cry:
Please please please don't change to 2 months!

It's been tried & didn't work, even after 2 months not all the games were played, & it just drags on & on....

1 month is great!!!!! :cool:




NorthUK :thumb:

[ddf]

Hi!

I joined IBA and IBA League in January so the February league was my first apperance in League play.

I was able to play 10 of 11 matches by February 10 so in my opinion 1 month is enough. I never played the 11th opponent but neither did anyone else in my division...
I think. :angel:

I vote for the league to stay as it is but if it will be changed to 2 months I'll play anyway.

"I Love This Game" :cool:

/ddf :thumb:

[memaxx]

one month is far to short to play all matches. six weeks or back or back to two months, which i think is a little long. but whatever works. maxx;)

[memaxx]

one month is far to short to play all matches. six weeks or back or back to two months, which i think is a little long. but whatever works. maxx;)

[kimmaree]

:( please, please, please don't change it........

I feel, if it was changed to a 2 month league, it would be even harder to play all matches as players can 'fob you off' by saying there is 2 months to play.....no hurry etc......

I believe 2 months is too long and people will loose interest. Once i have played all my matches, (if i can) I am looking forward to the next month and certainly don't wish to be waiting that
long. But then, patience is not my strongest point LOL. There will
always be that 'last days scramble' no matter how long the duration, so I vote to keep it as 1 month.

Happy rolls.............

:wave: Kim

[MagnumMaggie]

:scare: Oh please don't switch the league to two months. Sometimes people have to admit that the league is not right for them if they can't get all their matches in. In the past I have had some very frustrating times trying to get people to play but as long as Theo let us call a forfeit it didn't bother me. It no longer was a chore to find someone. I look forward to meeting and playing new people each month! :love: But I do have to admit one thing.....no matter if it was 1 or 2 months it will still take me forever to move up :cry: We have such talented players out there that the competition is real tough! :battle: But I love a challenge. Great job and keep up the good work.
P.S. no matter what the outcome you are not going to get rid of me....I am here to stay and play :devil:

[GV_eskimo]

I wish people wrote in which div they are playing when commenting. I had no problems playing in div 4 as the matches were so short. But playing in div 1, 11 matches that take between 1 and 2 h... Uh oh. Ok, I even try to chat less which is a bummer as I love the chat as much as the game. And I almost never have time to play in tours now... sigh.

One month seems ok. Tournaments that drag on are not as interesting. But it could make sense to reduce the division size as the matches get longer. Since this seems to be a problem only in the higher divisions reducing them might be a good idea. I wouldn't exactly trust a poll here just because of the players likely to have actual problems are fewer in numbers.

If we like to get really radical:
Div 1: 6 players, 4 players drop to div 2 (fresh blooooood each month)
Div 2:8/10 players

Less radical:
Div 1: 6 players, 2 players drop to div 2 (really hard to get from div 2 to div 1 then)
Div 2:8 players

Even less radical:
Div 1: 8 players, 4 players go to div 2
Div 2: 10 players


Of course, being allowed to take a one month break without dropping in divisions could be enough. But I understand this is hard to implement in the current pyramid scheme. And it would still be a strain to play the months one plays.


Eskimo

[garp_02]

I feel that 1 month for each league cycle is certainly ample time to complete matches in Divisions 3 and 4 (where I hang out - lol). This timescale also keeps things fresh and exciting in that yu aren't having to wait for ages for the new league if you have completed your matches timeously.

I can, however, see the point raised by Eskimo that in the higher Divisions, completing 9, 10 or 11 matches of 9 or 11 points in a month could be onerous - hell! one day I might be there myself - lol.

I wouldn't agree with Eskimo's most radical of suggestions though about a 6-player Division 1 with 4 being relegated each month. I feel that the players in Division 1 (and indeed 2A and 2B) have probably fought hard to get there. Making it hard to get there increases the drive of players to try to do it - although I also feel that you lose heart if it is well nigh impossible to reach.

The League would also appear to be growing steadily in numbers and, at some point, I foresee that the current situation will become unworkable.

So here is my suggestion for what it's worth:

Two Division 1's with 8 players and the winner of each Division 1 play off in an 11 or 13 point match to decide the League champion for each month.

Four Division 2's with only the top player from each gaining promotion and, therefore, 2 players from each Division 1 being relegated.

From there, the pyramid construction of te league can be filtered down through to Divisions 3 and 4 (maybe even 5?).


I hope this makes sense - it did to me when I started writing it - now I'm not so sure - lol.

Take care and have fun all,

Garp

[jfgnz801]

:pc: I agree that it is very difficult to get to and stay in divisions 1 and 2. and since there are more and more players coming in division 3 and 4 is getting filled up and making a division 5 might not be a good idea because there would be less interest in joining a league that if you are good it takes a minimum of 5 months to win it.
so there should be more players in the first 2 divisions.

there are several suggestions I have.

Division 1-3: 48 players / 4 groups of 12
Division 4: remaining players / *1 group
Divivion 1: top 1 = semis bottom 4 = descends
Division 2: top 4 = ascends bottom 4 = descends
Division 3: top 4 = ascends *bottom 1 = descends

Or

Division 1-3: 40 players / 4 groups of 9
Division 4: remaining players / *2 groups
Divivion 1: top 1 = semis bottom 4 = descends
Division 2: top 4 = ascends bottom 4 = descends
Division 3: top 4 = ascends *bottom 1 = descends

* changes as more join

Or simply making a league IA and IB which I wouldn't prefer.

[scottsalisbury]

:battle: Whats wrong with it being difficult to get to and stay in Div 1 and 2? Whats wrong with it taking a true committment (ever increasing as you move up in the divisions and the matches get longer) to finish all of your matches in 30 days? Its March 11 and I was done with all 10 matches in my Div 2 bracket two or three days ago!!! I was furious with myself when I got demoted to Div 2 and was stuck for months, and then added insult to injury to get further demoted to Div 3. Then clawed my way back to Div 2, and if all goes well, maybe, possibly (please!!!) back to Div 1 next month. I think this difficulty is the best thing about the league. It will be a pain for new members when there are 5 divisions but thats what makes it challenging. Even when you get to Div 1 there is no guarantee of winning the whole league (take it from me!!!). Its supposed to be tough, I would like to see the format left as it is.

Scott